The Onion trees
by kinkyredmane
Summary: After nearly six years of absence Lindsay is forced to face her past demons. But, is her past ready to accept her here and now? M&M's FlackOC It got deleted by accident, sorry
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it…so don't bother me 

**Author's Notes: **If you have any questions feel free to message me, I am also open to new ideas as well

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**PROLOGUE**

Lindsay took in a deep breath, just the smell aftershave reminded her of him. She blinked and shook her head. She was not there to enjoy the scent of a complete stranger, a dead stranger at that; she was there to do her job. Which was basically to process a crime scene, go over the evidence…and catch a killer. Same old song every day of her life.

"God, I love the smell of dead bodies in the morning! Fantastic way to start a new day, dontcha' think Linds?" Greg Sanders said, coming up behind her.

"Jesus Greg!! Don't come up behind me like that," Lindsay stood up abruptly, turned around, and poked him in the chest, "I scare to damn easily to have you do this!"

"Well someone's just made up of peaches and cream today, you could very well rival the Wiggles babe!"

"Greg, don't compare me to a group of children's entertainers right now. I'm in no mood for it!"

"What's stuck up your ass…. never mind…. I don't want to know…. Any who! Who's the vic?"

"Alex Copperfield, 34, married, three kids, and he used to be a big bad casino man involved with the mob. I think this was a professional hit, the shot's perfect and and it's a through and through. I think he might have been shot from a distance. And I think it might be a high distance at that."

"Like a roof? Cause it seems like that would be the most obvious place to shoot a man from if it's a professional hit, right?"

Lindsay smirked, "That's what we're here to figure out."

* * *

It was some time around noon when Lindsay finally got a break, there were no leads on her current case and her thoughts had constantly been drifting back and forth like a ping-pong ball all day. At the scene her thoughts had gone from the case to him so quickly she hadn't even realized she had started thinking about him until someone had to actually pull her out of her trance. Even in a whole different part of the United States he affected her like a drug.

Lindsay let out a loud groan and silently cursed herself for falling back into his unintentionally woven web. All thanks to a dead man's aftershave no less!

"I am a goddamn moron for letting him affect me!" She muttered to herself angrily.

"Besides the conversation you're having with yourself, am I interrupting anything Monroe?" Catherine Willows poked her head through the door, a Cheshire cat grin on her face.

"Nope, not really! So, what do you need?" Lindsay asked, getting off the break room couch.

"I need to tell you something!! Three things actually!"

"Well shoot sister, and do it quick cause I've got to get back to my break."

"Okay! One: _My_ Lindsay called and said that Charlie was being a perfect monster."

"That's my girl!! She takes after me ya' know?" Lindsay beamed at the thought of her daughter.

"Quiet you. Two: We got a hit on your case, turns out the mob has been after Copperfield for a while…and recently his partner was killed the same way. Finally, and this is the kicker honey! Three: His partner was killed in fabulous New York City!! And guess who has to go?"

"You say it and I will shoot you." Lindsay glowered at the older woman.

"Fine, I won't say it...but you know what you have to do. Nicky is going to go with you too and you don't have to worry about Charlie's arrangement m'kay? I've got her. So just get ready to see your old team again!"

Then the inevitable happened, Lindsay fainted, right there, in the Las Vegas Forensics Lab. She dropped like a rock with only one thing going through her mind. _'How the hell am I going to explain Charlie to Danny?'_

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**Author's Note: **It's just in it's baby stages soooo yeah. If you like it fantastic...if you don't good for you. I really don't care. Just push that little purple-blue button and review, I like to hear what people think of my writing! 


	2. Till The Cows Come Home

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing; if I did I would have married Danny and Lindsay long ago!!

**Author's Note:** Chapter two posted the same day as chapter one, weird right? What can I tell ya', I'm REALLY bored. And yes to daytimedrama's request, there shall be fluff!! But the fluff must come later!! As for Charlie being Danny's, you'll just have to wait and see!! Hee hee -lollie-

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**CHAPTER ONE: Till The Cows Come Home**

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts and prepare to land."

"Oh my god, I swear I will strangle that hostess if she does not wipe that fake smile off of her fake, botox filled face!!!" Lindsay hissed, digging her nails into the arm of her seat.

"Um Linny, you know that murder is an unhappy place and I thought we already talked about you being in a happy place…remember?" Nick looked over at his friend and co-worker uneasily, she had never been this pissed off before.

"Shut up you frickin Texas jerk off."

"That's a new one, having trouble with sarcastic remarks today are we?"

"You know that you sound just like Greg right now? Annoying and about as intelligent as fruit fly."

"Seriously Linny, what is the matter with you? You're being quite hurtful today, and I don't know if my fragile Texas jerk off heart can take much more of it." Nick placed one of his hands on his heart and sighed dramatically.

"I just don't want to deal with my old co-workers okay? I left without warning and now I'm coming back with only a little warning." Lindsay sighed and looked out the window, only to see the airport become closer and closer to her.

"So, why did you leave?"

"I think you and I should discuss that another day, when I don't have to tell you the whole story in such a hurry. Kay?"

"Sure you'll tell me. Just like you promised Charlie that you would tell her why she wasn't getting a baby brother for her good attitude last year. Which reminds me, why would she think that she would get a sibling for having a good attitude?"

"You'll have to take that up with Catherine's mom because she promised her that, not me! In fact half of Charlie's 'why' and 'how' questions are because of that woman," Lindsay laughed, "Maybe I ought to get a new babysitter for Charlie."

"Oooohhh!! We're landing! We're landing mommy!!" A small boy excitedly tugging at him mother's shirt interrupted their conversation.

* * *

As Lindsay and Nick walked out of baggage claim, she felt a wave a nausea fall over her. Just the fact that she was in the same city as Danny made her heart do all sorts of things that it shouldn't be doing. Lindsay searched for a familiar face in the crowd and when her eyes landed on the beatific smile of one Stella Bonasera all of her troubles seemed to wash away.

"Lindsay!!! Oh my god!!! Over here!!!!" Stella waved her arm like a maniac to get the woman's attention and when she was greeted with a small smile and a matching wave, Stella could only wave her arm harder.

"Stella I am so happy to see you!!" Lindsay rushed over to her old friend and embraced her with a large bear hug.

"When was the last time we actually talked girl??? Like, what??? A year and a half ago or something???" Stella shook her friend and slapped her arm playfully.

"Sorry, we got a thousand cases all at once and in the midst of cases and child raising you don't exactly have time to relax."

"So, erm, ladies…care to head to the lab now?" Nick smiled sheepishly at the two chattering women and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, yeah! Sure! You must be Mr. Stokes. I'm Stella Bonasera, nice to meet you. After you check in with Mac I'll take you guys to your hotel, sound good?" Stella blushed, embarrassed by her earlier antics in front of such a good-looking man.

"That's cool. Now, let's move out." As Nick walked, both women fell behind him to gossip and be girls.

"Oh my god Linds! Why didn't you tell me that your co-worker had such a nice ass?!"

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As Lindsay stood in front of her old work office, feelings that were supposed to be buried resurfaced. She could vaguely hear Stella and Nick talking about the case as they entered the elevator. Lindsay began to panic; she wasn't even wearing the right clothes for seeing Mac and the rest of the team…and Danny. She was dressed in flare jeans and a paint splattered concert t-shirt. Not a very professional get-up.

At least Nick looked somewhat professional in his outfit…Lindsay was about ready to cry when the elevator finally dinged to indicate their stop. All fears vanished with that ding as quickly as they had come and instead Lindsay felt a numbness wash over her body. She walked through the office and could feel the astonished glances of old co-workers. And as soon as Lindsay caught sight of her old team waiting for her in Mac's office, she felt her knees go weak.

But a reassuring smile from Stella and the feeling of Nick placing his legendary baseball cap on her head gave her all the courage she needed. So as she entered the office she placed a huge (albeit fake) smile on her face.

In a sing song voice Lindsay greeted the old team, "I'm baaaaack!!!"


	3. Kickin' It

**Disclaimer: **I only own the piece of cheese that I just ate…that's it…I'm going to go cry now…

**Author's Note:** I'll try to make the chapters as long as possible, and I can guarantee that they will vary in length, but please bear with me if you find the chapters too short.

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**CHAPTER TWO: Kickin' It**

It took all of Lindsay's will power not to pass out for a second time that week. She could feel his eyes on her and she wanted to run behind Nick and hide for the rest of their stay in New York. Taking in a deep breath, she pulled Nick's cap around so that it was backwards and gave the team another large grin.

"Nice to see that I've managed to leave you guys speechless." She laughed and ignored Danny's intense gaze.

"We're just surprised to see you back here Montana." Lindsay winced at Danny's detached voice; he sounded like a robot to her.

"More than glad! We're ecstatic!" Donald Flack pulled Lindsay into a tight hug and gave her a gentle pat on the back.

"It's really good to see you back here Lindsay." Hawkes grinned at her and she could only grin back.

"Ahem, as nice as this little reunion is, we really need to get started on this case. Grissom's sent me all of the information you guy's gathered and I can trust that Stella's filled you in on what we know," Mac coughed, "By the way team, this is Nick Stokes, Lindsay's partner in Vegas and from here on out your partner, Hawkes. Get to know each other and work together. Lindsay, I'm partnering you up with Messer. Now get to work, we've got a killer to catch."

"Gotcha' Mac." Was all Lindsay could utter before her body went onto autopilot.

* * *

As Lindsay followed Danny through the familiar halls, she could feel her heartbeat become faster and faster. He was right in front of her, aftershave, accent, and all. Unfortunately he was basically ignoring her. This was a real problem for her since she had to work with him.

It was Lindsay who broke the silence, "Sooo, what have you been up to lately?"

Danny turned to look at her, his eyes ablaze, "You got not right to be askin' that Montana!! It aint you're business!!!"

Lindsay didn't flinch…on the outside at least, "Right, I'm the only person at fault here! I'm the worst person ever born and you're a freaking saint! Is that how it is Messer?!?!?"

He didn't answer her, he only glared and sat down at his desk indicating that there was no more to be said, but Lindsay wouldn't have it.

"Listen, Danny, I'm sorry, okay? I'm only saying this because we're stuck together…again…and as partners we need to be able to work togther. So, let's just call a truce for right now…we don't even have to talk to each other! Just a truce against us arguing…is that okay?"

Again, there was no answer. He was shutting her out and she sure as hell knew that she deserved it, but she didn't want to deserve it. Lindsay sucked in a breath of air (apparently her new favorite hobby) and began to flip through the case file on the desk before her, carefully examining the evidence documented by the New York forensics lab.

* * *

It was at around eight o' clock when Nick came rushing into the eerily quiet office. He had a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, Linny, you wanna grab a bite to eat? There's this little restaurant across the street that looks good. I saw it on the way in."

Lindsay was out of her seat in a shot, anything to get her out of that office and away from Danny. But, unfortunately fate had different plans for her.

"Hey, erm, Messer right? You wanna come to?" Lindsay silently cursed nick for being so goddamn nice, he just didn't know when to leave people out of things.

"What the hell? I'm bored and maybe I can learn a little bit about what Montana's been doing lately since she hasn't told me anything." Danny smirked and got out of his chair.

As she walked out of the office, she could hear the men talking and she, yet again, tugged Nick's cap around so that the brim was in front of her. She didn't want to look at anyone; she was pissed, tired, hungry, and ready to cry. It had been a fan-freaking-tastic day.

* * *

The restaurant was small and very casual, and Lindsay was thankful for that. She was not ready to take off Nick's hat just yet. It was her fort, and it had been her fort for many years. Ever since the accident Nick had continuously let her borrow his cap to cover her emotional eyes. It was a great comfort for her.

"So, Montana, you going to take the cap off any time soon or will someone have to remove it from your head?" Danny had always had impeccable timing.

"I really don't want too, I've probably got hat hair, and I would prefer to hide it." Lindsay answered shortly.

"Geez, just makin' nice on that truce you offered earlier."

"Um, I'm going to go order the food, okay?" Nick was up before either of them could protest, and Lindsay silently cursed him.

"You know, he forgot to ask us what we want."

"I don't really care, and nick knows what I like and don't like and he'll probably just guess for you. So it doesn't really matter to me, you're the one you should be worried."

"What? Does that mean you guys are really close or somethin'?" God that accent was just to damn much for her, her knees were beginning shake and she was ready to melt into a puddle on the floor.

"We're partners, and I always make it a point to get to know my partners well."

"Don't I know it."

"Hey! I thought you were going to make nice on that truce, so don't try and bring crap like that up." Lindsay hissed, glaring at him.

"Fair enough Montana, but don't expect me to hold to that promise for too long." The grim look on Danny's face med Lindsay shiver, he was too calm when he had said that.

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It was in the locker room later that Lindsay finally got some relaxation between the tense work with Danny, Nick's oblivious banter, and Mac's constant hovering. So a little alone time looked great before going to the hotel and probably slipping into Nick's room because she hated lonliness. Sadly, her quiet time didn't last that long since Stella practically bounced into the room with a gigantic smile on her face.

"Stella, what are you smiling about?" Lindsay asked, regarding her friend with a weary eye.

"Well, other than the fact that you and Danny have talked without ripping each other's throats out, I saw Flack and a mystery lady making nice outside of the lab a few minutes ago."

"Why does this matter? Flack has always had lots of women friends."

"Not lately, he's been like Mac; completely celibate and uninterested in the young women around the lab. It's like, miracle."

"Good for him that he's not gay or celibate…but I don't really care that much."

"Lindsay, you have become such a wet blanket since you had Charlie."

"Things change Stella, things change…"

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**Author's Note:** Don't worry, Nick and Lindsay are not getting it on or anything, they're just really close!! Hee hee -lollie-


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